Eliasburg
A bustling trading town of thirty thousand located in the Fiefdom of Aeristhane, Eliasburg is located on the northern river bank of the Serpent's Tongue and serves as Aeristhane's transportation hub. Seeing dozens of caravans moving in and out of the town each day, the metropolitan town has become affectionately known as the "Pit Stop" by many traders. History Eliasburg was originally founded in 487, by Ricktor Elias. The Elias family traces its roots to burgher families in the Fiefdom of Tharsis, having accepted the call from the Duke of Bellewerke's colonial efforts. Eager to claw their way into nobility, Ricktor sold all of his assets, packed his belongings and ushered his family into the pilgrimage to create the furthest west settlement in the new land. Upon his arrival into Aeristhane, he was both enthralled by the magical riches the land had to offer and bitter over the lies that had been fed to him by the Duke of Bellewerke. Instead of curious natives that were happy to trade, Ricktor's family were accosted multiple times by bandits and roaming kobolds on their way to their allotted land. Other settlers were often of little help, as many still had coin and dreams of power as their chief desires. By the time they had arrived at where Eliasburg was to be built, Ricktor's mercenary band of fifty had been cut in half, mostly from dissent and desertion. Ignorant of the nearby mining settlement of Lynno and unable to go any further, Ricktor reluctantly set down his claim and began work on constructing a homestead on the banks of the Serpent's Tongue. Despite the rough start, it quickly became apparent to Ricktor that he had stumbled across the prime location for a budding settlement: more eager colonists that needed a roof over their heads on their way to the distant reaches of the colony would find refuge in the Elias manor for the night, provided they had coin or time to assist the family with labour. Leveraging his mercantile knowledge, Ricktor soon amassed enough influence and a bustling village to show for his efforts. Caravans from both Lunthorn and the Twyst lands could be seen moving through the village, bringing prospective merchants and colonists alike. Finally, Ricktor made contact with the mining town of Lynno and began the arduous task of redirecting their export into Eliasburg instead of directly to Aerisholm, then a competing colonial settlement. To secure the deal, Ricktor purportedly devoted his entire life savings into building river barges that could transport the heavy iron ore. Unfortunately, the project could not be finished before Ricktor passed away in 512 from old age. As the knighthood was handed down from father to son, it soon became apparent that the burgher nature of the Elias family had never faded; by the time Ulysses Elias (558-582) took charge of the town, the title of knighthood had shifted from knight to mayor, with guilded robes instead of a coronet. Although this endeared Eliasburg to the merchants and the middle classes, this shift erased any chance that Eliasburg had at becoming the true capital of the colony, with the aristocratic nature of Aerisholm standing true despite the test of the harsh lands. In recent years, Mayor Vale has been patching up historical grudges between Eliasburg and Aerisholm, acting as a key patron to the construction of the ducal palace. It is rumoured that Vale has plans of matrilineally marrying his younger son Gyle to House Aeris and sending him to work as a diplomat in Aerisholm, to cement the ties between the two towns. Economy Trade and transportation lies at the heart of Eliasburg's financial success; an hourly barge system ensures that cargo can be reliably ferried to and from Scaleford, with hundreds of dock workers ensuring that any cargo will be on a seabound ship by the end of the day. Instead of the singular inn that is common in villages, there exists an entire "inn district," where lodging, food and other creature comforts can be found for any weary traveler. Interestingly, due to Thane Elias' heavy hand in the economy, the Lunthornian trade charter has not been able to establish itself in the town. Although many argue that this has simply replaced a Lunthornian monopoly with a monopoly run by the Elias family, on several occasions the Thane has seen fit to act as a patron to entrepreneurs, paradoxically allowing for a competitive albeit heavily subsidized economy in Eliasburg. The second largest source of income for the town is the caster's guild and the services that they offer. Thaumatic casters, like magpies to shiny objects, develop a sense for innately magical areas and naturally tend to congregate around such areas. As such, it is no wonder that Aeristhane has had an abnormally high amount of magic users. Offering services from enchantment to healing, the caster's guild's name is somewhat of a misnomer, as there is almost no formal organisation. There exists no guild building, and almost all meetings are conducted in the town square, where the locals have been helpful enough to erect a bulletin board of all magical requests. Despite this, the caster's guild has maintained a very strict and efficient tutoring system, where any novice caster can enlist underneath a more experienced mage to learn and practice. It is rumoured that if all of the magus in the caster's guild were to coordinate their efforts, they could move the very town itself. Demographics Eliasburg's population began as predominantly human, with the Elias family reluctant to accept Twyst even after the Treaty of Bowic. As the population invariably swelled due to the economic success, the Elias family found it more and more difficult to contain the Twyst presence. Controversially, Mayor Writter in 549 issued a decree formally banning Twyst from holding positions of office in Eliasburg. Although the local uproar from the lower classes was immense and the disapproval from Aerisholm palpable, Writter enforced the decree until his resignation in 558, when he was succeeded by Ulysses Elias, his nephew. Although the decree was never revoked, and by technicality still is in forced to the present day, Ulysses later passed the Offices Act, which allowed orcs, halfings, elves and other non-human or mixed race citizens of Eliasburg to take office. When questioned about the legal technicality, Ulysses simply replied that he did not consider the non-humans "Twyst," but rather citizens of Eliasburg. In the current day, Eliasburg's Twyst population remains somewhat lower than the residing countryside or in Aerisholm, but for a different reason than oppression by the Elias family; since the construction of the Terian garrison in the outskirts of the town in 609, their heavy-handed acts, especially against the Twyst population have been the root of the tension between Eliasburgians and the Terian garrison. While the more prosperous Twyst that live near the centre of the town are largely unaffected, many of the lower class Twyst have moved out to the countryside to escape the persecution.